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Giant wasps causing a buzz
As the sun was beginning to set last night, I decided to do some maintenance work in my garden. This should have made for a nice evening, but instead it turned into a stand-off between me and one of Mother Nature's fascinating creations. It was a cicada killer buzzing by my head. Cicada killers are found all over Oklahoma, and if you have ever encountered one you would likely not forget it. They are intimidating because of their large size, sometimes measuring 1 5/8 of an inch. The black and yellow stripes are striking and lead many people to believe that it is a large hornet buzzing around them. These wasps make their homes in sandy, bare, well drained soil, explaining why they are often called sand hornets. Typically these burrowed holes will be found in a spot that receives full sun, and a mound of fine soil will surround each nest in the ground. If there are bare spots in a garden or in container planters, the wasps are likely to set up camp there. The adult wasps feed on nectar from nearby flowers. The immature wasp, which is laid as an egg in the ground nest, will feed on a cicada that the mother has stung and brought back to the nest. The female wasp will search tree trunks and lower limbs for the cicadas. The wasp stings her prey, turns the victim on its back, straddles it and drags it or glides with it to the burrow. The nest is then sealed off and the egg will hatch in two to three days. The larva will feed for four to ten days until only the cicada's outer shell remains. During the fall, the larva spins a silken case, shrinks, and prepares to overwinter. There is some good news in this story--only one generation occurs per year. And better yet; only the females are able to inflict a sting, but they are very docile. It is the stingless males that are aggressive--all buzz, no sting! In order to control these pests around the house apply a light dusting of carbaryl around the entry to the nest. Carbaryl is the active ingredient found in products such as Sevin Dust. Wasp and hornet sprays will also work, but there is a greater chance of aggravating the pests with this method. I've found that it always helps to look on the bright side of things. These wasps can provide an excellent learning opportunity for youth--they are a teaching tool, not a nuisance! Date: 8/28/07
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